Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the prequel series, which debuted on HBO this Sunday night, was designed to be accessible for anyone just jumping into the Thrones-verse now. It’s clear from the first mention of the Targaryen family squabble, however, that it’s only a matter of time before HBO starts giving fans easter eggs⁠—like introducing Davos Seaworth’s great-great-great-grandfather. If you think memes like “when my boyfriend leans over at a Marvel movie and whispers, ‘that’s Phastos,'” are accurate, wait until guys start explaining how a character named Lyman Beesbury became the Lord of Honeyholt. You can watch free movie online at 4khotmovies and you can also download seasons like game of thrones house of the dragon from this site.

Let’s get into it. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, grandson of Aegon the Conqueror⁠—the legendary dragonrider who first conquered the seven kingdoms and created the Targaryen dynasty⁠—is left without an heir. A council forms to help choose his successor between his granddaughter Rhaenys and his grandson Viserys. The patriarchal members choose Viserys, and it’s his rule where our story really begins.

Unable to produce a son, King Viserys (Paddy Considine) faces, years later, the same dilemma that put him in power. When a council forms to name a successor between his brother Daemon (Matt Smith) and his young daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), King Viserys tells them that he, “will not be made to choose between my brother and my daughter.” It’s the kind of indecisive declaration perfect for an impending civil war. Of course, we’re just getting started.

One night, Daemon abuses his power and sends his golden-caped knights to murder random people in the street. Casual. “King’s Landing will learn to fear the color gold,” he declares. His men engage in beheadings, genital mutilations, and they sexually assault women. He considers the people he attacked criminals, but it seems like he just committed a massacre of innocents. Viserys is angry with his behavior, as is Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King. Otto disagrees with his methods of “keeping the peace,” suggesting that Daemon might be better off back in the Vale with his neglected wife. Daemon proceeds to call her a “bronze bitch” and openly insults her to the entire council by offering her to any man who wants her.

Viserys’s pregnant wife, Queen Aemma, goes into labor the following morning. It’s not going well. She had many failed pregnancies before, but the King is desperate to produce a male heir. Forced to choose between his Queen and the baby, Viserys chooses his heir and the Queen is sliced open. At her funeral, it is revealed that the baby only lived for a few hours. During this tragedy—which is truly one of the most harrowing and bloody scenes HBO has ever shown its viewers—House of Dragon intercuts the terror of Queen Aemma’s murder with wanton carnage at a jousting tournament. George R.R. Martin said that this series would be different because there is no one to root for. In this one episode alone, almost every main character has committed an atrocious act of violence.

Many view Prince Daemon, the heir presumptive, as a potential tyrant should he claim the Iron Throne. The council unanimously agrees. Finally fed up with Daemon following a drunken rant about how his stillborn nephew was “heir for a day,” King Viserys reprimands his younger brother. Daemon retorts that the king’s closest advisors are simply using him to gain power. While he may be not wrong, calling the king weak after all the evil he’s done over the past few days wasn’t the smartest play. Viserys orders Daemon to return to his wife in the Vale. Then? He names Rhaenyra as his heir. His lords reluctantly bend the knee, but the eye-rolling does not go unnoticed by this viewer at home.

I was doing some eye-rolling myself every time we cut from a dragon to what was essentially a boardroom meeting. House of the Dragon promised us the glorious age of dragons. Not horrific, failed pregnancies. It feels weird to be back in Westeros, especially since the last two Game of Thrones seasons left viewers on such a sour note, but I’m strapped in and ready for another wild ride. I just hope that ride is on the back of one of the many dragons I was told would be here.